Chennai, October 16: A Chinese settled in Singapore who attempted to purchase gold in a jewellery shop using a fake credit card was arrested by the Central Crime Branch police on Wednesday.
According to police sources, a man who claimed to have come from Singapore gave his credit card to settle a bill in a jewellery shop in Purasawalkam on Tuesday. However, the Electronic Data Capturing Machine rejected the transaction. Officials at the Standard Chartered Bank, being the acquiring bank in this case, found that the actual owner of the credit card was based in Bangladesh.
Enquiries made with him revealed that he had not come to India and the credit card was very much with him. On the instructions of the Commissioner of Police T. Rajendran, a special team followed specific clues and apprehended the suspect T. Tankohyu (28) who was staying in a hotel on the Armenian Road.
The suspect was in possession of four fake credit cards. He claimed to have bought the cards in Malaysia on payment. Two mobile phones were seized from him. On Tuesday night, the Chennai Police arrested a two-member gang and seized 11 fake credit cards. The accused told investigators that a gang based in Malaysia had supplied the credit cards. In another case, a youth who used a fake credit card to purchase gold in a shop at T. Nagar was arrested. The data stored in his card belonged to a person living in the United Kingdom.
In-depth investigation
“We will ask the CCB to conduct an in-depth investigation into these cases. The shopkeepers should also take some precautionary measures such as asking the customer for identity or reference whenever there is a suspicion.
Besides checking the photograph, they should crosscheck the signature and ascertain the identity by seeking additional and relevant information,” Mr. Rajendran said.
Sources in the CCB said efforts were on to know whether Tankohyu had come alone or with some accomplices. “Steps will be taken through diplomatic channels to take legal action against the suspects in Malaysia who supplied the fake credit cards. We are probing the modus operandi of the gang and its nexus with criminals in other countries,” a police official added.
—Agencies